Chapter 643 – Monsters and Subjects

000

White.

Wherever you go, wherever you look.

From the ceiling, through the walls and down to the floor.

The hallway, which was made of clean white color with no dirt to be found, was a space completely opposite to the underground passage from before, where people’s tenacity, cruelty, and thoughts were buried.

A little more mechanical, heterogeneous.

It is a strange thing for a living person, a thinking person to pass through this passage itself – that it is not normal, Aisha has more animalistic feelings that humans have as living creatures than ‘thoughts’.

In other words, he instinctively noticed it and proceeded down the aisle with a tense expression that made him gasp and choke.

“Ummm…”

Everywhere you look, the same sight, and the same tightly closed door.

She didn’t know which door she had to go in to get out, but the Schrödinger sitting above her head gave out a voice of concern without showing any particular reaction.

“Hey, can we keep walking like this?”

A few minutes to walk like that. However, when she cautiously opens her mouth to ask him if the little guide above her head is too silent, Schrödinger lets out a sigh and answers her.

“It’s still fine. It’s been so long since I’ve been here, it’s just taking me a while to get the map out of my head.”

“Have you been here before?”

“Then. Because I was made here.”

Casually, when Schrödinger utters the remark that the place of production is here, Aisha flinches and trembles as she raises her steps and glances up.

That doesn’t mean that her Schrödinger image of her is in her eyes, but Schrödinger guesses why she stopped and talks to reassure her.

“That doesn’t mean I cheated on Darwin. It was her colleague who made me, but he is already dead.”

“Come to think of it, I didn’t get an explanation after all. Why can you move and talk? I thought someone was controlling it with magic from afar, but listening to them talk doesn’t seem like it.”

Saying that, Aisha grabbed her Schrödinger, which was mounted on her own head, and brought it in front of her eyes.

She thought that the lovely body filled with cotton that fit snugly around her hand didn’t suit the slightly frivolous voice that flowed from it.

“A doll that can think and talk on its own… Haha…”

When Aisha stretched out Schrödinger’s face as if he was talking to himself like that, a really painful scream of ‘It hurts!’ Came out of his mouth.

“Ah, you have a sense.”

“Why are you doing something yourself if you ask me if you have any sense!?”

When Aisha said sorry and released her hand from her face, she almost fell to the ground in an instant, then flapped her wings vigorously to return her altitude to the original position and fly right next to her head. While talking

“I am a homunculus. Didn’t we talk earlier?”

“Homunculus?”

When Aisha reacts as if it were the first time she had heard a word with such a pronunciation and put it in her mouth for the first time, Schrödinger thought that if he were a human, he might have broken out in a cold sweat, but he kindly tried to explain it to her. It was

“I see… Is it natural that in the East, people don’t know about the word homunculus? Because there is no magic or alchemy. Well, so to speak, it’s an artificial life form created by magicians. I move with the nucleus inside the doll, and there are guys who are completely human-like.”

When Schrödinger said that, thinking of a girl with dark red hair staring at her expressionlessly while drawing a V in her head, Aisha responded with a slightly frightened expression.

“Eh… Make a person? By magic? …Is that possible? How many androids have gone into hiding among people like that outside of the Eastern countries…? Those guys are actually manipulating society from behind the scenes, and someday they will do behind-the-scenes work to create their own world…”

Watching her grabbing her hair while muttering something in her, Schrödinger makes a face of her astonishment.

“My lady… You have the talent of a conspiracy theorist. Don’t worry. The difference between most humanoid homunculi and normal humans is that they do not have facial expressions.”

“Hehe…”

Then, since he can distinguish a homunculus from a human, does the thing he worried about not happen? While thinking, Aisha seems to be a little relieved.

Even so, Schrödinger was reminded of another homunculus he had seen a while ago.

‘Come to think of it, the homunculus of the black giant that my brother had defeated at that time… Poltuk was making an expression with his face as if it were natural. Did you overcome that with the Empire’s technology…?’

“So, you’re also a made-up being… But if you were made here, isn’t it strange that you’re hostile to Darwin?”

“There are many circumstances on this side as well. My master was an executive in an organization called ‘The Regressors’. Like Darwin.”

She thought her question was natural, so Schrödinger couldn’t help but shake her head and talk more about himself.

“Have you ever heard of a regressor?”

Eh, Aisha shook her head following Schrödinger.

“What. A group of dangerous scholars, so to speak. They’re the ones who cause trouble all over the continent, threatening to destroy this world that exists today. What they do are things like human experimentation on grave robbers and behind-the-scenes dealings with animal cruelty.”

“In other words, it’s an evil organization.”

At Aisha’s simple definition of George as a regressor, Schrödinger said she was right and clapped her hands with her wings as she continued.

“Yeah, that’s right. Well, I was abandoned by my original owner because of one thing or another… After that, I’m with the guys who are hostile to that regressor. You are lucky If I hadn’t followed you secretly by chance, Darwin would have drained the blood from his entire body and turned it into dried fish.”

“Hey, dried fish…”

Although her expression was a bit harsh, she wasn’t wrong, and Aisha’s face turned blue when the image of herself drained of blood from all over her body appeared in her head.

“To kill a person as an experiment is to think nothing of it. So, we need to get out of here quickly. Even if I go back to Asteris, it’s dangerous to stay in that house. Let me introduce you to the people who are hostile to the regressor I mentioned earlier.”

She said, ‘Oh, but watch out for the leader over there. She doesn’t identify a girl, but if you just hook up with her girl, you’ll make her progress at some point-‘, and if you try to warn her-

Aisha, who had been silently thinking for a while, shook her head and answered Schrödinger.

“…That’s… It’s okay.”

“Yes, yes… Huh!?”

When her unexpected words came out of Aisha’s mouth, which she expected to say thank you, Schrödinger looked back at her as if she meant it.

“Thank you for your heart, but if you stay with me, it will be difficult for you. I am a noble… And… A descendant of a cursed family…”

No matter how lately, there are people in Asteris who give this kind of work to themselves, but it is only a small part.

As a nobleman himself, there were even people who called for the government just by exposing his horns and walking down the street, so it was possible to know what Asteris’ perception of noblemen was without saying much.

From what Schrödinger said, I could feel the trust in them, so I know that they are not evil.

But that’s why, he thought, he couldn’t let him get involved with an existence that had no place in this world like himself.

The old house he was fond of had already been discovered by Darwin, so he would have to move again.

Maybe, if he thinks that he might have to leave Asteris—

“Don’t be stupid. There is no need to pretend to be strong.”

That’s what Schrödinger was talking about.

When Aisha looks at Schrödinger in surprise, the doll spins and spins in the air, then sits back on top of her head and continues the story.

“The scope of activities of the regressors is the entire continent. Because of this and that, my power has weakened, but I will persevere when it comes to the enemy I’m aiming at once. You are not someone you can do alone.”

“But… If you stay with me, you’ll look at me badly among the people of Asteris…”

“They’re not the ones who care about that. If any of these guys were here other than me, they would have said the same thing? Especially if it’s that older brother.”

“…Brother?”

When Aisha repeats the word, as if caring about Schrödinger’s title, Schrödinger nods.

“Okay. Even that guy, outside of Asteris, there’s nothing that people can see with a good eye. And yet, he’s a guy who’s more dedicated to someone else than anyone else.”

“…That’s amazing.”

“Yes? So, are you a noble or a cursed clan? Even if you talk like that, he won’t mind.”

At Schrödinger’s words, where he patted her breasts and the lower part of her face with his wings, as if telling her to believe in herself, Aisha hesitated a little but tried to nod her head.

In the very next moment, before ‘it’ reveals itself.

“… For a moment.”

The straight passage that Aisha was walking continued without a fork until this point, and finally diverged to her left and right.

However, as she walked without a map and relying on Schrödinger’s guidance, she was about to ask Aisha which way was right for him.

Schrödinger blocks her words first, holds her breath, and pricks her ears.

As if a real live cat had detected a crisis, Aisha also covered her mouth with her hand to keep her as quiet as possible.

Then- Aisha could hear something like a grinding sound coming from somewhere in the distance.

“…What the hell are you talking about… This is…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it doesn’t sound very pleasant.”

At the sound that sent goosebumps down their spines, Aisha and Schrödinger listened intently to figure out which side of the road, left or right, the sound was coming from.

But at that time, the hammer that had been placed in her bosom slowly came out of her bosom due to bending over…

With a snap…!

It falls to the ground, making a metal crashing sound.

“Urg…!”

What was startled by that sound was Schrödinger and Aisha, but the next moment.

The sound of chirik, chirik, chirik, heard from far away suddenly increases the interval and gradually grows louder.

“Mi-sorry…!”

“You have to move faster than that! Shit, the sound echoed, so I was left or right…!”

Schrödinger closes his eyes and concentrates on the sound. If we take a wrong turn here, both Aisha and herself will be caught by the guy making that noise.

“… This, Mr. Doll?”

“Wait a minute, I’m concentrating on figuring out which one…”

“Oh, no need for that! Right! Hold on tight so you don’t fall!”

As she said that, when Aisha felt as if she was turning her body around, and a violent vibration echoed in Schrödinger’s buttock, she knew that Aisha was running frantically.

And at the same time, a feast of chirping sounds coming from behind.

When Schrödinger gently opens his eyes and turns his body round and round – there, it was there.

A monster with a terrible shape that is difficult to describe in words.

It was probably a test subject made using beast-type monsters as materials.

It was a bizarre creature with an upper body covered in fur like a werewolf, and a lower body with four pointed and sharp legs like a spider.

Should I say Chimera?

Besides, it did not simply have the characteristics of a living being, its four sharp legs, part of its upper body, and its entire face were made of smooth metal. It was a silver metal that seemed to be wearing a helmet and was fused with the body.

“Darwin’s number of evolutions…!”

I could tell just by looking at it. That is, it is a synthetic life form that Darwin created by mixing various life forms with an evolutionary leap to protect this facility.

It was not difficult to know that if caught, it would be torn to pieces and dismantled on the spot.

What’s more important is its size.

It was so large that it filled the entire aisle, so it was impossible to deal with her from the front with her hammer.

“Haha…!”

Aisha continues to run through the aisle without stopping, and a monster chases Aisha from behind.

The movement speed was almost the same, but the difference was that Aisha had a limit to her physical strength.

‘How do I… How do I do it!’

The only word that comes to mind is that. It is wrapped up in a sense that it is necessary to somehow overcome this situation, and that the despair that such a method does not exist for oneself weighs heavily on the body.

She couldn’t die in a place like this, but the monster chasing her behind her made her look like a grim reaper.

Then when-

“Miss! Stop!”

When Schrödinger gives Aisha such instructions from above her head, Aisha replies, ‘What!?’ And then she checks her distance from the monster running from behind.

He was still a few hundred meters away, but if he stopped running, he would catch up with him in seconds.

“Because it’s okay! Stop and this on the wall!”

Schrödinger leaps from above her head, flapping her wings and pointing at the wall.

There, in a red frame, was a button with a transparent cover made of glass.

“Eh, what is this?!”

“Explanation later! Hit it with the hammer you brought!”

In response to Schrödinger’s answer, Aisha reflexively lifted the hammer and hit the cover with the button with the hammer. It makes a clicking sound when the button inside is pressed.

OK-

[Emergency bulkhead, active]

At the same time as the voice of guidance echoes overhead, the monster that has been chasing them is about to approach right in front of them, as if to block the two, a steel wall appears with a ‘thud!’

“Haha…!”

If the fear that gnaws at your body and mind is not gone and you are separated from him like that, bang! While making a sound, a shock and sound echoed as if the guy was angry and hit the bulkhead.

“Oh, it’s okay…”

Even so, Aisha lets out a sigh of relief and raises her body, but Schrödinger says the situation is still not good.

“No, somehow it didn’t work…”

“Why…!?”

“It’s just one of Darwin’s loose trackers. And since our escape routes are also limited… We have to do something.”

Even as Schrödinger said that, seeing Aisha’s legs tremble, she shut her mouth for a moment.

“It would be better to hide somewhere for a while and rest. If I meet a guy like that again, I might have something to run for.”

“…Uh, yes… I want to say I’m fine, but… My body isn’t like that.”

Aisha nodded her head as if agreeing with Schrödinger’s words, and Schrödinger pressed the opening/closing button as he could to find the room with the door open nearby.

After walking through the aisle for several minutes, when the door finally opens in response to a button, Schrödinger takes Aisha inside.

“Most of the rooms here are made for experiments. No matter what is inside, safety measures are in place for the experimenter.”

Nodding her head, Aisha enters her room.

Inside the dark room, there were no tools for experiments or monsters that seemed to be chasing him earlier.

Instead, it was the cylindrical water tank in front of the two that created the light source for the room.

“…Hey, this is…”

When Aisha looked at the tank and squinted her eyes, Schrödinger shook her head in disbelief and moved closer to the tank.

If you look closely, there was a translucent liquid inside the tank, and something in the shape of a floating person connected to a respiratory system.

“Is this also for human experiment…?”

Schrödinger didn’t understand everything about Darwin’s experiment, so she said that, but Aisha picked up the paper lying next to the tank as if she had found something.

“Here, what is written. But… I don’t know what the word is.”

At her words, Schrödinger flew away, and when she looked at the paper she held in her hand, there was a record of the experiment written in an ancient language.

“… I think it’s the information of the test subject in that tank. Gender is female. Age 17… Pitiful.”

“Isn’t your name listed?”

“I’m with you… But what do you do?”

“Just in case…”

To Aisha’s answer, Schrödinger is silent for a moment, then answers her.

“Albein.”